Mediaweek

There’s something reassuring about talking to someone who’s spent years on television and still sounds like good company over a very long lunch. Samantha Armytage is one of those people. She’s curious, quick with a laugh, and you get the feeling you’d want your story straight before trying to slip anything past her. She grew up in a noisy country family, where getting a wor...

When Brian Gallagher first walked into the offices of what’s now Tapt Media, it was a Tuesday and the sales floor was empty. His verdict? “Culturally bereft.” A lot’s changed since the Laundy family bought the business. Tapt Media is building a bigger digital audience; its YouTube channels are pulling in more than five million views a month, and Brian’s making a fresh...

Mediaweek and Mumbrella have spent years covering Australia’s media industry while becoming one of its juiciest stories. The latest argy-bargy centres on Vinyl Media's plans to use AI to dramatically scale its publishing output. The debate has since come down to AI publishing and, somehow, the word “bombastic”. So, naturally, we put the two men at the centre of it in the same roo...

You probably know Matty Fahd from the Gogglebox couch. But before he was critiquing TV for a living, he spent 18 years working behind the scenes in media, from the agency trenches to helping build TikTok Australia. Then he did something many of us have probably fantasised about: he walked away from the corporate gig. With Gogglebox Australia back for a new season, Matty joins me on Newsmakers to t...

Google gets the click. Meta gets the conversion. But did either of them actually create the demand? New research from SCA and Seven suggests that by the time a consumer searches, clicks, or buys, much of the hard work is already done. The research looked at almost $73 million in media investment and more than 615,000 customer outcomes, and raises some big questions about how marketers measure what...

We here at Mediaweek wanted this chat to be a little bit different from our usual ones. We all know about the bust-up with Jackie, the court case and the new show, Kyle Sandilands Live , which launched today. And while we touch on some of that, I wanted to go somewhere else. Full disclosure: I’ve known Kyle for around 15 years. I first met him when he and Jackie were at SCA, before coming ba...

If you've ever wondered whether marketers are giving far too much credit to the last click, this episode is for you. In this episode of Newsmakers, I’m joined by  Seven's director of sales, Katie Finney , and Prophet CEO Jordan Taylor-Bartels to unpack why the industry is moving beyond last-click attribution, what actually drives demand, and why TV, audio, podcasts and digital work best...

Simon Ryan has seen this industry from both sides of the table. He used to run things inside a legacy global holding company - now he's the one building a business, giving those same networks a headache.  Kind of poetic, honestly. He's the founder of RyanCap, which he built fast and sold to Cosmo Five in Paris in about three years. So when he talks about why the big guys are struggling, he's...

Antoinette Lattouf has become one of the defining figures in Australia’s media and political landscape - not just because of the Federal Court case against the ABC, but because of the broader questions it raised about journalism, power, and what happens when reporters become the story themselves. In this episode of Mediaweek’s Newsmakers , Lattouf speaks candidly about the legal battle...

There are journalists who cover the news, and then there are those who somehow end up standing in the middle of history as it unfolds. Michael Usher has spent the better part of three decades doing exactly that. From the chaos of 9/11 in New York to the Iraq War, the London bombings, royal weddings, federal elections and some of the most defining moments in modern television news, Usher has built...

Securing millions of eyeballs during prime time looks great on a network press release. However, monetising those streaming audiences at the speed of live television, presents a completely different challenge. Behind the screen, Connected TV (CTV) and programmatic advertising serve as the vital plumbing that turns those viewers into revenue. This unseen engine dictates exactly which ad plays to wh...

Tom Malone didn’t set out to run a national audio network, but he sure built his career like someone who might. In this episode of Mediaweek’s Newsmakers , the Tapt Media CEO traces his path from newsroom floor to the top job, unpacking the decisions, discipline and industry shifts that now sit behind the launch of the new independent audio business. See omnystudio.com/listener for pri...

The term ‘thought leader’ is often loosely applied across marketing and media, but at its most effective, it plays a defined role in shaping brand direction and influence. That’s the focus of the latest episode of Newsmakers, featuring  Jenny Haggard,  Head of Global Brand Strategy and Thought Leadership Lead at Spotify. In the episode, Haggard outlines how the role ope...

He’s been described as a comedic dark genius. But beneath Anthony Jeselnik’s acerbic wit lies a mind shaped by the power of literature. Fiction, to be precise. In fact, Jeselnik’s appreciation for the written word is so great that he’s even started a book club. Called ‘The Anthony Jeselnik Book Club’ - the only prerequisite for membership is … well, nothi...

For years, the media industry considered out-of-home advertising the blunt instrument of the media mix. Planners bought giant billboards and hoped people would drive past. Those days are officially over. MOVE 2.0 has finally launched. The new $20 million measurement tool leaves its cage to shift the industry from simply buying panels to genuinely understanding people. In the latest edition of the&...

What do you get when you invite six of ad land’s most powerful women into a room to talk candidly about what it means to be a woman in the industry? It might sound like the start of a riddle. After all, coordinating the diaries of six CEOs and senior leaders is no small feat. Amazingly, Mediaweek managed to do just that. In the aftermath of International Women’s Day, the Newsmakers pod...

Marc Fennell  has a knack for finding the stories that make you double-take. From art heists to stolen colonial artifacts, he has carved out a niche as Australia’s preeminent chronicler of the weird and the wealthy. His latest project,  Australia’s Greatest Conman , dives into the surreal world of  John Friedrich  and the National Safety Council. Marc joined  M...

Veteran news anchor Mark Ferguson joins Mediaweek’s Newsmakers to reflect on his journey from a teenage cadet in Tamworth to the face of 7NEWS Sydney . Ahead of his 60th birthday, Ferguson opens up about the pivotal moments, global assignments, career risks, and lessons learned across four decades in Australian television news. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What happens when a journalist who’s spent decades in the newsroom goes head-to-head with a futurist who believes AI could save it? In the very first Mediaweek’s Newsmakers Debate , Joe Hildebrand and Rita Arrigo face off over one of the biggest questions in modern media: Is AI destroying journalism, or helping it evolve? It’s a fiery, funny, and surprisingly hopeful exchange abo...

There aren’t many journalists who can say they’ve gone from covering crime scenes to coaching CEOs - but Shelly Horton can. After three decades in the media, she’s swapped newsroom chaos for the boardroom floor, turning her sharp instincts and trademark humour into a mission: helping leaders find their voice and women find their power. In this episode of Mediaweek’s Newsmak...

For Simon Cahill, the intersection of music and technology has never just been work - it’s been a lifelong obsession. From tinkering with VCRs as a kid to helping launch SXSW Sydney, he’s built a career that reflects the same passions that once kept him glued to Saturday morning music shows. In this chat, Cahill details the golden thread that seems to have woven his career together, an...

Mitch Churi is a broadcaster who’s never been afraid to put himself out there. From squatting in a KIIS FM studio clucking like a chicken in front of Kyle and Jackie O , to winning awards and hosting national shows, Mitch has carved out one of the most colourful journeys in Australian radio. When ARN cut him loose earlier this year, he didn’t sit still. Instead, he doubled down on what...

Clair Weaver’s path to journalism wasn’t the usual one. At 19, she was flying long-haul as a flight attendant, wondering what might come next. But she already knew the answer: journalism. She studied remotely through the UK’s National Council for the Training of Journalists and cut her teeth at a local Hertfordshire paper, before moving on to the Watford Observer and then the fas...

Majella Hay is undoubtedly one of the most powerful women in Australian television. She’s the Director of Content, Unscripted at the Seven Network, which means She’s the driving force behind shows like My Kitchen Rules , Australian Idol and Farmer Wants a Wife . But in this conversation, Majella doesn’t just talk formats and ratings.  She opens up about balance, about what i...

Morgana O’Reilly is no stranger to playing complex, messy women. And, she’s been everywhere - from Neighbours and Wentworth to The White Lotus .  Now she’s stepping into one of her most haunting roles yet in Playing Gracie Darling. She stars as Joni, a child psychologist forced to return to the hometown where her best friend vanished during a séance, only to discover...